NEWS,17.4.2012

 New US anti-drug policy stresses treatment, prevention

 

The White House unveiled a new drug policy strategy Tuesday that veers away from imposing heavy prison sentences for illicit drug use and focuses instead on prevention and treatment.Officials said the new approach looks at drug addiction as a treatable disease rather than a crime."Outdated policies like the mass incarceration of nonviolent drug offenders are relics of the past that ignore the need for a balanced public health and safety approach to our drug problem," said Gil Kerlikowske director of the National Drug Control Center in a statement."The policy alternatives contained in our new strategy support mainstream reforms based on the proven facts that drug addiction is a disease of the brain that can be prevented and treated and that we cannot simply arrest our way out of the drug problem," he said.The announcement of a revised administration drug policy approach comes just days after a regional summit in Cartagena, Colombia, where leaders from across the Americas agreed to consider alternatives to the US-led "War on Drugs," which over the decades has claimed tens of thousands of lives, but yielded only meager results.Obama at last weekend's summit told his counterparts from Mexico, Central and South America that he opposed legalising drugs, but agreed for the first time to direct talks on the thorny issue of rampant drug consumption in the United States -- the world's most voracious consumer of cocaine.The US leader also agreed to ramped up US efforts to stem the flow of money and arms toward Latin America.His administration's revamped drug policy accelerates administration efforts to divert non-violent drug offenders into treatment instead of incarceration, while imposing stiffer penalties on major drug traffickers.Officials said the new anti-drug strategy also puts a greater emphasis on the healthcare system and youth outreach.The overall goal is to break "the cycle of drug crime, incarceration and arrest," said Charles Ramsey, chief of police in the city of Philadelphia and one of the key partners from the field of law enforcement in the effort."Policing in the 21st century means being tough but smart in how we address our nation's drug problem," he said."Those of us in law enforcement understand that too often drug addiction is the underlying cause of crime," he said, adding that enforcement can play a vital role in breaking the vicious cycle.Officials said they also would ramp up efforts to secure America's southern border with Mexico, increase US antidrug cooperation with overseas partners and target violent international drug gangs.The policy shift comes at a time when illicit drug use in the United States is on the decline.The administration said drug abuse currently is only about one-third the rate it was in the late 1970s.

 

Barak says Israel never ruled out attacking Iran

Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak on Tuesday said his country has never promised the United States it would hold off from attacking Iran while nuclear talks were taking place. The comments, in which Barak said that a diplomatic push to reach a compromise with Iran was a waste of "precious time," further exposed a rift between Israel and the US over how to deal with the Islamic Republic and its nuclear programme. Israel, arguing that a nuclear Iran would pose an existential threat, has said it will not allow Tehran to acquire a nuclear weapon. It cites Iranian calls for Israel's destruction, Iran's support for Arab militant groups and its development of long-range missiles capable of striking the Jewish state. Fearing that Iran is moving quickly toward nuclear capability, Israel has repeatedly threatened to attack if the country's uranium enrichment program continues to advance. Enrichment is a key process in developing weapons, and Israel says Iran is closely approaching a point where it can no longer be stopped. The US favours diplomacy and economic sanctions, and has said military action on Iran's nuclear facilities should only be a last resort if all else fails. Officials from the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany met with Iran in Istanbul last weekend to discuss the country's nuclear programme. The talks were described as positive, and they agreed to meet again on May 23 in Baghdad. Barak told Israel's Army Radio he did not believe the talks would prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. "We regret the time being lost. This is precious time," he said. Earlier this week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu previously said Iran got a "freebie" from the international community, saying the May meeting gave the Iranians an additional five weeks to continue uranium enrichment without any restrictions. He said Iran should be forced to stop this immediately. Netanyahu was publicly rebuked by President Barack Obama who said the US had not "given anything away" in the talks. Iran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes and says it does not seek a bomb. But the US and its allies do not take the promise seriously. The Obama administration has urgently sought to hold off Israeli military action, which would likely result in the US being pulled into a conflict as well.